Rebekah Delgado's Debut Album 'Don't Sleep'

Rebekah Delgado's 'Don't Sleep' album review by Emma Johnston

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Music break

Now, as most people reading this don't know me. I need to tell you the last five songs I listened to on my iPod; The Winner Takes It All (Abba), On A Night Like This (Kylie), Honky Tonk Angels (Dolly), Friend Like Me (Aladdin) and Blue Chair (Costello). So seeing as I have a unique taste in music I was a bit taken back when I listened to Rebekah Delgado's new album Don't Sleep. Not because of some dire content but because it was so different from what I force into my ears every other day.

New Talent

In the recent years there has been a prominent rise in female singer songwriters and Rebekah proves us too much that she is not just another face and voice. She has incredible talent. In my opinion, her voice is powerful. It's almost scary at times. She successfully manages to express her emotions through her voice; this is without listening to the lyrics. Her changes in tone match what I assume would be her performance; you can tell she worked to the bone over this album. If I had to compare her voice, I would say she is close to a combined Kirtsy MacColl and Emily Haines.

Violins?

The choice of instruments is commendable also, the strings section are very prominent and carry Rebakah's lyrics eerily towards the listener. Mainly because of apparent phobia to any change in music but also because of the haunting lyrics. I find that quite a lot of semi successful female songwriters lack any true meaning behind their lyrics. Despite them being written by them for them, they still manage to polish themselves for the top 40. With Rebekah, there seems to be no artificial factors at all. It makes me want to pay attention to her, makes me want to actually listen to her.

Something For Everyone

The flip side of that coin though, is that even though I did say I want to actually make the effort to listen and understand her words, I couldn't help thinking what a great dinner party album it is. The tempo never gets too fast, it's never too slow, and despite the songs being, well, slightly depressing, if you are engaged in conversation and glorious food, I'm pretty sure it would blend into the background and catching somebody's attention at some point.

Refreshing

I have to say out of all the tracks, I enjoyed 'The Hunger That Never Sleeps'. It reminded me of Blondie and just felt like an insane journey. The instruments almost drown out her voice as if they are attempting to make you listen even more. Which I did and left me feeling a bit insightful into Rebekah's mind... Too much? The rest of the songs on the album are all wonderful. Nothing seems too much like an 'album song' which is always a good quality. My example of an album song is Happy Go Lucky on the famous Steps album Buzz (UK 2000), then everyone goes... Huh? Then I have a good giggle.

Go Buy It

Overall I would say I did enjoy this album, despite it being out of my comfort zone. I could see this even breaking the independent market, because with the likes of Lana Del Ray and Adele invading the charts, it would be interesting and refreshing to hear something with a bit more meaning and commitment.